Two thousand dollars to purchase materials for an SAT prep course. $1,687 to support an herbal products business. $1,500 for an art therapy program.
Each year, a committee of Bates students convened by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships awards grants to local organizations from the James W. Carignan ’61 and Sally Larson Carignan ’62 Fund for Community Programs. Up to $2,000, the grants support specific, sustainable projects and partnerships with Bates students.
Participants in the Herban Works business at Lewiston’s Center for Wisdom’s Women show off a calendula salve in 2017. Herban Works was a 2019 Carignan Grant recipient. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
The grants honor the legacy of Jim Carignan, Dean Emeritus of the College, who died in 2011, and his wife Sally, both of whom made community partnerships central to their work at the college and in the Lewiston-Auburn area.
“Jim and Sally Carignan were devoted to bettering the lives of the people of this community as well as breaking down barriers that existed between Bates and its neighbors,” says Peggy Rotundo, director of strategic and policy initiatives at the Harward Center.
“How fitting to honor the Carignans through grants that strengthen the work of our local nonprofit institutions and forge stronger connections between the College and the community.”
Dean Emeritus of the College James W. Carignan ’61. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
Similar to past years, the 2019 grant committee, which comprised seven students, was briefed on the nonprofit world, fundraising, and grant evaluation, this year by Holly Lasagna, health equity manager at Healthy Androscoggin.
Since 2007, the student committees have distributed more than $100,000 to a wide variety of community organizations.
Here are the 2018–19 Carignan grant recipients:
- L/A Arts: $1,600 for an internship for one or more Bates students to help expand the Art Walk, and for the purchase of portable exhibition materials
- Museum L-A: $2,000 for two students to finish an educational project for museum visitors
- ArtVan: $1,500 for an art therapy program for students at Martel Elementary School in Lewiston
- Center for Wisdom’s Women: $1,687 for production, gardening, marketing, capacity building, and volunteer recognition at Herban Works, the Center’s herbal products business
- Lewiston High School Aspirations: $2,000 for SAT prep books, SAT prep workshop lunches, and an SAT prep coordinator for the Bates–LHS Aspirations Program.
Categories Civic engagement Lewiston-Auburn
